MSO tunes up for return to Geelong

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will return to Geelong in 2021 with fine music, mesmerising repertoire and a spotlight on female composers and soloists.

The MSO marks its return to Costa Hall in March with violinist Grace Clifford, one of Australia’s brightest young stars of classical music.

Clifford will join the MSO and conductor Benjamin Northey, performing Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, a work of exuberant energy with the charm of traditional Czech folk music. Also on the program is American composer Missy Mazzoli’s These Worlds in Us, a contemporary piece exploring themes of grief and joy, alongside Sibelius’ grand and sweeping seventh and final symphony.

In April, the MSO and German conductor Johannes Fritzsch will perform a fearless, feminine and forthright program, with award-winning Australian actor Pamela Rabe as narrator, channelling several Shakespeare heroines in Melody Eötvös’ Ruler of the Hive. Rabe conveys monologues from Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, All’s Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure and As You Like It in this powerful work exploring Shakespeare’s relationship with women as well as the social and political issues that have affected women from the Renaissance to present day.

MSO Concertmaster Sophie Rowell leads the Orchestra through a celebration of J.S Bach with Scottish accordion virtuoso James Crabb as soloist in June.

The coupling of J.S Bach and the work of English composer Sally Beamish will see Crabb play the part of continuo, normally reserved for harpsichord, on the piano accordion. Sophie Rowell play-directs Bach’s Orchestral Suite No.3, lavishly orchestrated for its time, highlighting the composer’s mastery of harmony, rhythm and his sense of fun.

MSO Season 2021 Geelong: Part One

Costa Hall, Geelong

• Mazzoli, Dvořák & Sibelius: The New and the Familiar

Conductor – Benjamin Northey

Violin – Grace Clifford

March 5, 7.30pm

• Ruler of the Hive:Shakespeare and the symphony

Conductor – Johannes Fritzsch

Narrator – Pamela Rabe

April 23, 7.30pm

• Bach and Beamish: Sophie Rowell and James Crabb

Director and Violin – Sophie Rowell

Accordion – James Crabb

June 4, 7.30pm

For tickets, head to mso.com.au/geelong.